WaterColours going higher

At least one real estate owner doesn’t believe there will be a bevy of 10-storey buildings going up on Seven Mile Beach.

Kim Lund, broker and owner of ReMax, said that despite the fears of critics of the 10-storey limit, buildings actually attaining that height are going to be few and far between in the foreseeable future.

“Pretty much everything on Seven Mile Beach is already developed and any new parcels that would be acquired would be the older complexes and currently it takes an absolute majority to redevelop a property,” he said.

He argues that having all the owners of an existing condo development agree on selling to redevelop will be a very complex task.

“Right now there is no new construction planned, and with the time it takes to plan, pre-sell and get planning approval for a project like this it would be a five to 10 years before we see a new nine- or 10-storey development right on the beach.”

News that 10-storey buildings will be allowed came as Mr. Lund and developer Fraser Wellon are watching over the building of the WaterColours condominiums on Seven Mile Beach.

Once a six-storey complex, the WaterColours is now transforming into a 61-unit, nine storey structure, its three- and four-bedroom residences ranging from approximately 3,600 to 3,700 square feet.

“As it turns out it is a great thing for this developer as he had already allowed for a certain land cost in his development,” said Mr. Lund.

“He is keeping his profit static and passing a huge savings onto purchasers by amortizing the land cost over a further 21 units.”

The units were originally priced from US$4 million to $5.5 million. By adding an additional 21 units to the building, the price per unit has dropped by an average of $1.2 million. Now starting at US$2.7 million, the units average $960 per square foot. Mr. Lund says the units will stay exactly the same; they will just cost less than before.

Good timing

Mr. Lund said that since the builders were completing the substructure work when the announcement was made, they were able to easily make the necessary fortifications to allow the addition of three more stories.

“It is certainly easier to do that kind of work when you are right in the very beginning of the project,” he said.

The reason the project is only going to nine storeys instead of 10 is because the floor heights are taller than standard, with the six storeys having been built to the height of a typical seven-storey building.

Whoever bought units on the sixth floor will now get bumped up to the ninth floor.

“If they were on the top floor, they are still on the top floor,” said Mr Lund.

And the price drop seems to be having an impact.

“We were doing all right, but we were feeling the impact of the economy like anybody else,” said Mr. Lund.

“Now that we are dropping prices in the past two weeks we have had two sales and one reservation.”

That brings total sales to 13 with a further six units reserved.

“This is a one-time opportunity as the developer had already acquired the land from the seller in the understanding that the development was to be six storeys,” said Mr. Lund.

With the additional units, the price per square foot is lower than other comparable properties like Water’s Edge, the Pinnacle and the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

“There is no way in the future [for the price] that anyone can build a development like this on Seven Mile Beach,” said Mr. Lund.

2 COMMENTS

Might as well just increase it to 50 stories and make Cayman like Miami. The Cayman Government is so short sighted and lacking in common sense. Probably think doubling the height of Mount Trashmore makes perfect sense too!!

Historically condos that are no higher than 3 or 4 stories have retained their value better than higher ones – cases in point South Beach and Naples in Florida. People don’t want to come to the Caribbean and sit on top of a high rise.

And hopefully they have adhered to proper setbacks for a building that high.,